The 2023 SEA Games: Soft Tennis Adds Gold Medal for Indonesia

VIVA – The men's soft tennis team added gold medal for Indonesia after defeating Thailand in the final of the 2023 Cambodia SEA Games with a score of 2-1 at the Soft Tennis Sports Center, Phnom Penh, on Tuesday. 

Coach for Indonesian Soft Tennis Team, Prima Simpatiaji said the success this time could not be separated from the strategy. Indonesia successfully learned from the previous defeat in the preliminary round against Thailand with a score of 1-2.

"At the beginning of the match, we lost to Thailand. Then, we changed the strategy from singles to doubles in the final. That is what fooled Thailand," Simpatiaji said after the match.

This victory was supported by the hard work of the players during the national training camp. "They have fought. We have prepared ourselves with training camps since last year. So, this is a great achievement," he stated. 

For the men's team number, this achievement improved from last year when the SEA Games 2021 in Vietnam returned home with a bronze medal.

"This victory is the capital of the soft tennis team to look forward to the 2022 Asian Games in Hangzhou, China. Hopefully, we can achieve good results again," Simpatiaji remarked. 

This is Indonesia's 25th gold at the 2023 SEA Games. Indonesia is now in fifth place with 25 gold, 22 silver, and 52 bronze, with a total achievement of 99 medals.

Meanwhile, in the women's team sector, Indonesia had to settle for bronze after losing to the Philippines in the final with a score of 0-3.